Pours a slightly hazy golden yellow with an off-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of grain, citrus zest, and some tropical fruit aromas. Taste is of grain, citrus fruit, citrus zest, and some subtle tropical fruit flavors on the finish. There is a mild bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good lager with some very nice aromas and flavors. (569 characters)

A: Pours a medium golden color with a half inch of very fine, sand colored head. Leads a wall of lacing on the glass. Looks beautiful.

S: Nice hoppy citrus and tropical notes, with caramel and crystal malt backbone. Slight sweetness. Almost a honey like aroma coming from the glass.

T: Lager yeast is offset with a nice hop kick, citrus and some herbal and floral notes, a little caramel and crystal malt underneath gives a hint of sweetness, finishing on the palate with moderate bitterness and not much flavor.

M: Medium-light body and medium-high carbonation with a nice bite.

O: A very good hoppy lager. Glad to see the Bruery with something approaching an IPA, but why don't they just brew this as an ale? (760 characters)

A - Golden yellow beer with a couple of fingers of puffy head that had very nice retention and left some moderate stick on the sides.

S - Very well integrated hop bitterness breaking up some of the more traditional lager yeast and sweeter malts. Smells quite inviting.

T - Some good grain malts and lager yeast. The hops bring a good bit of bitterness with the lager flavors. It's pretty nice, and the hops break up some of the sweetness and boringness of a traditional lager. Great hop finish.

M - Light, crisp, good carbonation.

O - Not a traditional lager, but this is really what I'd be looking for in one. Great beer, refreshing, can drink this all day. (724 characters)

Had this on tap at the Bruery. Poured a pale light straw color with a 1" pillow of bright white head. Big nose of citrus like hops and a very light biscuit like aroma. The taste was great. Fruit like hop presence with some piney flavors as well. Light bodied and carbonated well. A little dry on the finish. This is a good beer. I'm not much in to lagers, but this is an exception. Tasty stuff here. Heard a lot about this stuff. It didn't disappoint. (451 characters)

Pours a clear, bright golden color with a large, white head that hangs around for a bit. Scent is very hoppy for a beer that labels itself as a lager. Tons of citrus and pine. Taste is extremely piney... drinks a lot like an IPA (don't really have the palate to say what is an ale and what is a lager). There is a ton of fresh hop flavor...absolutely delicious. Nice and bitter! Mouthfeel is medium bodied and well carbonated. Drinkability is very high. Overall, this is my first encounter with this lager. Maybe after I have it a bunch of times, I will be able to distinguish why this is not a hoppy pale ale or an IPA. All I know is that it was yummy as shit. (661 characters)

Scored a growler a little early before heading over to Beachwood BBQ's sour fest, seriously, big thanks to the Bruery for hooking me up, they really cater to beer nerds like myself.

Anyways, yellow lager color, a little more dark gold than BMC stuff. Big hoppy aroma, just like you want it with something named humulus. Big dry hopping.

Taste, almost perfect, I think I like humulus session or xpa a little more, the yeast seems to just not be the same fit as an ale, but it could just be such a foreign concept to have a lager this well hopped. Have to have more to determine with greater certainty, either way, its still very good. Hides alcohol very well, a Bruery tradition. If you like the fruity yeast presence from lagers and are a hophead, this might be right up your alley. (784 characters)

This poured a nice foamy head with a beautiful golden body. Tons of tamed but strong hops in the nose. The taste of this is about as good as a 'lager' can get. You get a nice malty lager background and the hops just come up so nicely in the front, showing off their might but never applying any painful force on your tastebuds. This beer is a work of art and an honor to drink. (377 characters)

A - Pours a cloudy golden-yellow color with a finger of frothy white head atop. The head fades down slowly leaving behind a good amount of lace.

S - Aroma is full of lots of hops. There is a good amount of pine and earthy hops with just a bit of citrus hops in the background. There is also just a bit of grain and funk mixed in as well.

T - Starts off nice and hoppy with a good amount of bitterness. There is a bit of grain flavor alongside. Through the middle the bitterness really kicks in with some more traditional lager flavors. The finish has a nice hop kick to it with some bitterness and a bit of funky grain that linger.

Good Lord, please make more beer like this. And put it in six packs. And make my bodega stock it. And make it cost ten dollars. Amen.

This beer --- wow. Is it really lagered? Is it really a pilsener? It is super super hopped. Like hops with nitrous or something. Ridiculous. This reminds me of Hill Farmstead Abner and Galaxy, to be perfectly honest. It is perhaps without category. It's just good.

Hazy copper, stringy lace all over, great head that remains... The beer looks good. Humulus might be cloudy, but the taste is pure. so is the hoppy smell. Pine, grapefruit, lemon zest. Caramel malts. Yum. The taste is the same... Now I'm thinking of Hill Farmstead Edward. This beer is all over the place and yet, good everywhere it goes. An excellent and clean finish, not drying despite the generous hopping, not malty despite the huge presence in the center of the palate. No trace of 7.2% alcohol. Just clean. Clean and damned good.

The best Bruery beer I've had yet. The only knock, and I mean the only... The aftertaste is a bit stale. It lingers without sweetness and it's musty in not such a good way. But who's complaining?

On Tap at the Public House at the SF Giants Stadium, poured into a tulip.

A – Pours a hazy golden yellow, with a two finger frothy head that sticks around for a while eventually leaving a nice layer of lacing behind. This is the antithesis of what I expect from a lager, and boy am I happy to see something done to better a style that I normally glaze over and pass over.

S – Holy Hell! This is a what? A lager? The hell it is. Well folks this is a hop bomb for a lager, imperial or not. Piney, with tropical fruits, mostly pineapple and mango. Some citrus aromas shine through as well. Very clean and crisp smelling.

T – I would swear this is a GREAT ipa if you put a blind fold on me. Very piney with some really great hop bitterness. Some of that pineapple and mango lend themselves to sweeten the beer a tad. Truly unique, and wonderfully balanced.

M - Body is fairly light, with excellent carbonation and a pretty dry finish. Smooth with a nice crisp finish that i tend to really like in a pils.

O – I was blown away by this beer. Easily in the top 5 best beers of 2011 for me. I knew it was a ticker, but I generally dont really care for lager, and this one exceeded my expectations! Very well crafted. I think I will go grab another tomorrow for lunch before its all gone. (1,292 characters)

Aromas are grassy, floral, a bit pine like, with some biscuit and grainy malts.

Taste is dry, biting, and crisp. Notes of bitter pine, grainy biscuit, and light creamy sweet malts meld well together, and create a nice complex flavor. It is very tasty, but to me, it comes off a bit strong.

Mouthfeel is very good, nice and full, very excellent body, and snappy carbonation.

Overall, this is an excellent Imperial Pilsner. I think it suffers a little bit in the drinkability department, and if they toned this down a notch or two, I'd probably score it an A+. But this is certainly no slouch of a beer... (734 characters)

On tap at burger. in Santa Cruz. Pours a brassy orange with a thick white froth. Smells like lawn trimmings, but in a good way. Lots of grass, pine needles, and unripe grapefruit. Flavor is based on crackery malts with a big grassy hop explosion. Light bitter grapefruit in the finish. Dry and very herbal but avoids astringency. A tiny bit of malt sweetness comes through at the end. Palate is light, refreshing and dry. A great lager, very satisfying. (453 characters)

On tap poured into a plastic cup at the Public House in ATT Park. Beer poured a nice golden yellow, clear with a finger and a half of pure white fluffy head. Head retention was decent for a while, leaving sticky lacing around the cup before dissipating fully after 10 minutes or so. Decent carbonation, ample, floating slowly up from the bottom of the cup.

Nose is biscuit malts and grains dominated when it was cold, with floral and herbal hops, with some light fruit aromas, white grapes, white peach, and pear. As it warmed up, the hops were a little bit more prominent, big floral aromas, with some of the sweet and fruity notes of white grapes and pear standing out.

Absolutely delicious, big floral and herbal hop flavors, though not overbearingly bitter. Lots of sage, parsley and tarragon flavors, but also a lovely fruit component, white grape/wine, pear, and white peach along with a perfectly balanced malt flavor in biscuit and fresh grain flavors. Finish is bitter and dry, white wine like with fresh herbs and white fruit.

Light bodied with excellent soft carbonation to keep this refreshing despite the higher abv. Dangerously easy to drink as the bitterness is not overbearing, while still being capable of delivering exceptional flavor. (1,259 characters)

O - An excellent beer that exceeded my expectations! It's not an IPA, not a Pils, but something in between. Whatever they did, it's done right. Can't wait to try it fresh at the brewery in the near future. (800 characters)

On tap at the brueryWas not impressed and my notes reflected that until I got back and read the description... I am reviewing this with the consideration that it is more an IPL than an imperial pilsner

Smells hoppy and earthy. Some nice light grassiness on the nose. There is a wheaty yeastiness on the nose that I am not a fan of.

Tastes light and hopy. The earthy, grassy undertones are nice but the hops don't meld well with the beer. There is an awkwardness to this beer that I'm not pleased with. Lagery yeast flavours. Orange, lemon, maybe some other citrus on the tongue. The flavour profile is interesting but unbalanced

Solid mouthfeel. Well carbonated.Overall the beer has a lot of potential it just feels really rough around the edges to me (842 characters)

Huge thanks to Sean for this impossible to get DONG... bright murky gold, light tan head, looks good for a growler... smells great, tons of tropical fruits, grapefruit and pineapple, the finish is a touch of alcohol pines... the taste is mostly hops, loses most of the sweetness, more herbal than anything, with some lemon and pine, really easy to drink (353 characters)

Poured a slightly hazy pale golden hue with a two finger high fluffy white head. The head had some nice hang time and turned out some nice lacing on the glass the entire time.

Smell rivals that of the best Double IPA's I've ever had. Grapefruit and mango stick out at the front with some piney grassy aromas and under all that some grain alcohol.

Taste is very bitter but it has a really nice crisp finish. Sweet malt upfront and a nice bitter finish. Hop flavors are pine and citrus and leave a very nice aftertaste.

A little thin in the body department but not watery. This is a great crisp full flavored lager. It combines the clean taste of a lager, with the bitter full flavor of an IPA. I can get used to drinking this. (795 characters)